Neuroscientist: Why Trumpists Will Never Abandon Trump
- cult of personality
- cognitive dissonance
- fear, "Denial of Death" Book / Martha Nussbaum book on fear
awareness of own mortality. Ease fear of death by world view through ideologies (that outlive the individual)
- thus strengthens your world view, ideology
- immigration attacks existence and place in history ("we will not erase us")
- Trump exaggerating threats, heightens fear, and existencial threat (and felt place in history) thus strengthens grip onto ideology and world view 'I will not erased.'
- Donald Trumps communication is more engaging.
- Conservatives are more hyper-vigilant (tuned in to threats)

“I don’t recognize her anymore.”
Through choked back tears, a man shared these words today about his 74-year old mother. The last two years have seen their once-loving relationship deteriorate precipitously, now relegated to cold exchanges via text and strained small talk conversations at family gatherings—sandwiched between explosive screaming matches which are often followed by extended periods of radio silence.
He shared screenshots of his mother’s Facebook profile, littered with Alt-Right talking points, discriminatory memes, and effusive tributes to the President—always juxtaposed with hateful diatribes regarding our former President. The racism and homophobia and Islamophobia she generates every day is both shocking and devastating to her adult son.
“She just believes every word out of his mouth, everything she watches on FoxNews.” he said. “I can’t reason with her. It’s like talking to someone who’s been brainwashed. She isn’t the mother I knew.”

the old man recounted singing Carib death-songs among the suicide victims. The elder explained that he was calling on the homeless spirits of the Americans to reconcile with the ancestral Carib dead, because they had never asked for permission to share the land.